December 2, 2011

College Saddened by Death of Student Ramie Harris

The Wheaton College community is deeply saddened by the death of junior psychology major Ramie Lynn Harris. Ramie, 21, was killed in a small plane crash that occurred on the morning of Saturday, November 26, along with her father, Ray Harris; younger sister Shey, a junior at Anderson University in Indiana; and Chris Backus, a senior at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. Ramie was known as a responsible, hard-working, and dedicated young woman, and the College is grieved by her loss.

“Tragedy becomes personal for us every time we learn of the death of someone we love, or someone we know, or someone who belongs to us by connection of church or city or nation or school,” Dr. Philip Ryken, Wheaton College president, said to the campus community during a Chapel service Monday, November 28. “This is a fallen world, in which airplanes sometimes fall from the sky, and in which all of us live with the knowledge that we too will die.”

“But this world is also governed by a merciful God, who has a good plan for all his children. He even rules over death, and because of his love for us in Christ, he has now welcomed Ramie into the safety of his eternal care.”

Ryken shared that, in a conversation with Ramie’s mother, Sherry Harris, Mrs. Harris talked about how her daughter’s faith sustained her, and about Ramie's appreciation for the Wheaton College community, which she joined as a transfer student.

“I am sad this morning. I am sad for the passing of a sister in Christ who will never walk this campus again. I am sad for those who knew Ramie and her father and her sister and their friend. I am sad most of all for the great sorrow that has come upon her mother and brother,” Ryken said.

“But I am grateful to God that even in this sad loss there is reason for thanksgiving. Today we live in hope for the coming of Jesus Christ. We believe, as Ramie did, that there is forgiveness for us through the cross and life for us through the empty tomb,” Ryken concluded.

“We claim these promises for Ramie Lynn Harris as our sister in Christ.”

The visitation for Ramie, Shey, and their father, Ray, will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. EST, December 2, at the Marion High School Gym in Marion, Indiana. A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST Saturday, December 3 at the same location. An obituary for Ramie is available here.